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In today’s fast-paced business landscape, where the demand for rapid technological advancements exerts immense pressure on organizations, the first critical question arises: How do the top-tier companies maintain a competitive edge?
The answer is simple: Their CXO Leaders have mastered the art and science of learning faster than the market.
Dr. Raman K Attri, a notable expert on the science of speed in learning and performance, recognized as Chief Learning Officer of the Year. In his groundbreaking book Speed Matters, Dr. Attri unveils a profound revelation: “Speed of learning is the only devastating competitive weapon in this fast-moving world, both for professionals and organizations.”
Innovation@Speed
Just a decade ago, the average time it took to bring new products and services to market stood at a lengthy three years, which has been continuously reducing year over year. Then came the unprecedented digital and technological revolution in the wake of the pandemic and post-pandemic era, compressing this time-to-market to a mere three months. It’s clear – customers now hunger for the latest products and next-gen services, and they want them faster than ever before.
Today, innovations like GenAI and AR/VR are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, prompting us to question whether leaders can even have enough time to keep up.
Dr. Raman, with his three decades of extensive learning leadership experience and authorship of an impressive 50 books, sounds a warning, “Unduly long time taken by leaders to learn and master new skills could delay the launch of new products, services, or solutions.” He cites that even a slight delay in cutting-edge industries like semiconductors can lead to millions of dollars in lost revenue for the company and customers.
So, the second pressing question is this: How can you ensure that you learn at the same speed as innovation, while meeting the evolving demands of your customers?
Proficiency@Speed
In the illuminating book Accelerated Proficiency in Accelerated Times, Dr Raman explains that during pre-pandemic times, the shelf life of skills was reported to be around 12 to 18 months. However, the pandemic unleashed an unprecedented market pressure on leaders, compelling them to deliver innovations, services, solutions, and technologies to customers faster than their competitors.
This new reality demanded not only learning but also rapid proficiency in novel processes and technologies. Consequently, the shelf life of skills diminished even further, as old skills struggled to retain their relevance. As we embrace the era of AI, skills are becoming obsolete at an even more accelerated pace, with many teetering on the brink of disappearance.
So, the third pivotal question arises: How can you construct a differentiation and secure a competitive edge for your leadership and team’s performance in a world where proficiency must keep pace with the relentless march of change?
Capability@Speed
As a leader, traditionally, you might have been focusing on uplifting your and your workforce’s capabilities and upskilling to address that. However, in today’s modern world, your capability or skill level is no different from your competitors and peers in other organizations operating in the same market and hiring from the same talent pool.
As Dr. Raman aptly points out, “ The capabilities of CEOs and leaders alone are no longer a market differentiator for organizations. The real differentiator now is the speed with which leaders develop themselves.”
Undoubtedly, the swiftness with which leaders learn, exhibit performance, establish authority, and elevate their leadership to new heights serves as a formidable competitive advantage.
Dr. Raman, acclaimed as the world’s foremost thought leader on organizational learning speed, proposes “Capability@Speed” as the mantra that top organizational leaders must embrace to stay relevant while building a competitive edge at an accelerated pace.
“This mantra has to happen at three fronts,” he emphasizes. “First, you have to demonstrate that you can learn faster. Second, you have to induct the same ability among your downstream leaders to ensure that they prioritize their learning speed. Third, you must build a support infrastructure to enable your organizations’ workforce to learn faster.”
Truly Speed-savvy CEO @Speed
Deloitte’s study in 2017 with 10000 executives found that speed and agility were far more important to executives to survive than the traditional focus on efficiency. However, the concept of speed and agility is often misconstrued by leaders, leading to an unproductive version of speed within their organizations. Many see speed as a race to the finish line, prompting them to push their teams for quicker deliverables, aggressive timelines, and faster project execution.
While this approach might create the illusion of rapid progress and impress with immediate responses to customers, it often results in shallow quality and inconsistent outcomes. It falls short of providing a sustainable, long-term competitive advantage.
Dr. Raman’s groundbreaking research on time-to-proficiency, conducted on 50 world-class leaders, unveiled a distinct approach employed by the world’s most exceptional CEOs and CXOs. He champions the concept of learning with ‘first-time-right-speed,’ which emphasizes mastery, even if it takes a little longer, to ensure consistent, reliable, and repeatable outcomes.
“As a leader, when you guide your managers and employees to reach this level of proficiency instead of chasing short-term gains, you become a genuine speed-savvy leader, poised to establish an enduring competitive edge.”
In this era of speed, the focus shifts towards achieving ‘first-time-right’ outcomes quickly. By prioritizing this, the speed of operations, including task execution, project completion, milestones, and productivity, naturally accelerates without the need for additional investment.
Get There Faster @ Speed
In the words of Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp, “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.” Dr. Raman K Attri echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that speed is indeed a critical skill, but it’s not something you can master through traditional means alone. It demands a different mindset and techniques to excel.
Recognized as the Top Coaching and Training expert in 2022, Dr. Raman takes immense pride in coaching CEOs, CLOs, and CXOs to evolve into ‘Speed-savvy Leaders‘ in record time. Using advanced training and coaching methodologies, he offers a remarkable blend of transformational coaching grounded in profound research and insights from the world’s largest corporations.
Dr. Raman founded GetThereFaster, in 2013, a professional learning and development forum. As an Accelerated Learning Scientist at this forum, he imparts invaluable insights to the business world, amassed over two decades of extensive research.
“Speed inherently intrigued me personally and professionally,” Dr. Raman explains. Acknowledged as one of the Brainz Global 500 leaders, alongside luminaries like Oprah Winfrey, Jay Shetty, and Gary Vee, his journey is nothing short of inspiring. With two doctorates in organizational learning and over 100 international educational credentials, Dr. Raman has established himself as a true guru of accelerated learning. Overcoming a permanent disability since childhood, he transformed his inability to walk into his unique expertise, teaching others how to ‘walk faster’ in whatever they do.
Reach out to Dr. Raman K Attri
To explore more about Dr. Raman K Attri and how you can expedite your journey towards transformational leadership, becoming a speed-savvy leader who not only keeps pace but leads the charge into the future of work, visit GetThereFaster™ at https://get-there-faster.com.
